It is common for people to lie down on a flat surface while receiving a massage. One such flat surface is a massage table specifically designed and intended for administering and receiving massages. It is typical that such tables include an outwardly extending headrest portion. Upon such headrest portion, the recipient places their head in order to create ease of breathing and improved alignment of spine, shoulders, neck and head. Various U.S. patents have been issued for inventions pertaining to the various embodiments of a massage table and headrest, many of which disclose massage tables assemblies that are expensive, heavy, and bulky.
Another such flat surface that people lay down on while receiving a massage is a typical bed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,460, entitled “Massage and Therapeutic Bed Extension Device”, issued Mar. 2, 1999 to Fried, et al., describes a massage headrest device that inserts between a mattress and box spring of a typical bed. This invention assertedly provides improved back alignment for the massage recipient while laying on a bed, but undesirably requires multiple fasteners and a cross-member support brace, fails to embody a folding element for compact storage and transport convenience, fails to provide an expedient height-adjustment mechanism to accommodate varying mattress heights, fails to be engineered for lightweight construction, fails to be consumer-friendly, and is generally cumbersome and bulky.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,168, entitled “Portable Headrest”, issued May 24, 2004 to Knickerbocker, describes another massage headrest device that inserts between a box spring and mattress of a typical bed. This invention assertedly provides means for folding the apparatus, means for adjusting the height of the apparatus, and improved back alignment for the massage recipient while laying on a bed, but undesirably requires simultaneous adjustment of two separately operated quick release clamps for parallel, even-balanced adjustment of height by way of a pair of telescoping upright elements, of which said telescoping upright elements are in abutment with the mattress. One embodiment of the cited reference appears to include a single telescoping upright element instead of two, though that is not expressly stated and no drawing is provided. Said embodiment includes the limitation of utilizing a quick release clamp for adjusting height of the telescoping upright element. Under said embodiment's configuration, the headrest portion is left to haphazardly rotate on a horizontal plane in addition to the intended vertical adjustment. Furthermore, when the cited reference utilizes one telescoping upright, the headrest portion cannot be horse-shoe shaped, as errantly disclosed in its claims, unless said telescoping upright is placed off-center to align with one of the end points of the horse-shoe shaped headrest, otherwise there is nothing for said telescoping upright to attach onto. Additionally, the device undesirably requires a two-step process of adjusting clamp and pin elements for locking and unlocking its bracing mechanisms along the lower base portion and upper plate portion when transitioning from a collapsed, folded state to a deployed, unfolded position, and vice-versa. Furthermore, as best understood, the scissor-like folding of the Knickerbocker apparatus leaves the headrest portion facing outward and exposed to the elements. In yet another embodiment of the cited reference, there are no cross members spanning the uprights or headrest portions of the device, resulting in extremely fragile construction that is susceptible to buckling, collapsing, or breaking. Furthermore, the Knickerbocker apparatus can only reasonably be made from plastic materials due to the nature and complexity of its numerous parts. This invention fails to provide a simple, easily deployable means for adjusting height, fails to be engineered for simple, sturdy construction, and fails to maintain operational design integrity throughout its numerous embodiments.
The invention described below is engineered without the use of mechanical telescoping uprights and/or quick-release clamps. It is engineered without the use of cross-member support braces. It is easily foldable, easily adjusted to accommodate varying mattress heights, can be manufactured from a wide assortment of materials, including wood, and requires no tools for assembly by the end-user.
What is needed is a foldable massage table headrest that overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art while containing fewer moving parts, is lightweight, easy to adjust for desired height, easily stored, and comparatively inexpensive to fabricate.